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Friday, July 6, 2012

Red Beans and Rice, Oh, So Nice!

Red Beans and Rice,
oh, are they so nice!

I have to tell you from personal experience, tradition can
be so very delicious! For example, every Monday in most New Orleans kitchens,
there’s a pot of red beans slowly cooking on the stove. That, truly, is a tradition that should be
started in every kitchen across the globe.

Classic New Orleans Garden District Home

There’s a great story behind this dish. In my family, and throughout
the south, Sunday dinner usually featured a lovely baked ham with all the
trimmings. This meal was the big meal of the week. After church, mothers, fathers, grandparents
and cousins would come together, dressed in their Sunday best, for a formal sit
down dinner, in the dining room. The table would be decked out with the good
china and silver, covered with the cherished tablecloth and cloth napkins,
crystal and a delicious home cooked meal. (In my family, my grandmother was the
cook). I digress, back to the story... On
Monday, especially in New Orleans, the leftover ham and bones would be made
into another meal... a bubbling big pot of red beans, served over rice. Interesting fact: according to Wikipedia, red
beans and rice is one of the few New Orleans style dishes commonly cooked in
both homes and restaurants. The dish and its tradition were brought with the
rich white sugar planters who fled to Louisiana after the slave rebellion of
Haiti.

Red beans and ham by themselves are fairly bland; it’s what
seasonings you choose to add that make it an extraordinary dish to be savored.
Along with the beans and ham, you must add the holy trinity of creole
cooking... celery, onion and green
peppers. In season five of Top Chef, guest judge Emeril Lagasse explained to
the competing chefs these three ingredients are referred to as the “Holy
Trinity.” Also, the right combination of
spices: salt, pepper, thyme, and parsley are among my favorites.

"St. Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans"at the French Market

There are different variations to this recipe; each cook has
their own secret to making a good pot of red beans. I have several cookbooks that have multiple
recipes for this southern comfort in a bowl dish. I concocted my own version of
red beans and rice; I let my instincts guide me. Of course, I kept the basic
“holy trinity”. That would be sacrilege
to alter it!

Red Beans and Rice, oh, they are so nice! The smell of the
red beans slowly cooking on the stove emanates throughout the house. It’s such
a warm and comforting aroma. And, I have to spill, the smell sends to my happy
place!

New Orleans Garden District

I have to pat myself on the back... It was exactly what I
had envisioned when I decided to make it.
Warm and comforting, every spoonful reminding us of our time in New
Orleans. If you can’t decide what to make for dinner, red beans and rice is something
I highly recommend. It does take a little time investment, but not a lot of
effort. I started with soaking my red
beans in water overnight (there’s the investment). In the morning, I rinsed the beans, filled
the pot with water, submerged a ham hock and added the following spices: 1 tsp.
dried thyme, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 T. ground pepper, 1 T. salt, 1 ½ tsp. garlic
powder, ½ tsp. cumin, ½ c. chopped tomato, and
part of the trinity - ½ c. chopped onion and ½ c. celery. I waited to
add the green pepper until later; I find the green peppers disintegrate in the
long, slow process. I brought the pot to
a boil and then turned down for a long, low and slow simmer for the rest of the
day. We try to watch our sodium intake, so I use salt sparingly, you may want
to add more salt to your taste preference.
Two hours before I was ready to serve, I added a chopped green pepper
and a ham steak. Not counting the
soaking time, our red beans cooked about 8 hours.

The "Original" Beignets at Cafe Du Monde

I know I already said this was a great dinner, but it really
was! As we scooped up spoonful after spoonful of this mesmerizing dish, images
of past trips to the “Big Easy” filled our minds: strolling through the Garden
District admiring the beautiful old homes, smelling the magnolias and gardenias
growing tall in the yards, dusting the powdered sugar off our laps as we dive into a basket of beignets at Cafe du Monde, enjoying a big yummy chilled Hurricane at Pat
O’Brien’s. On Monday night, along with almost every other New Orleans citizen,
we too followed tradition and relished this delicious dish.

As I mentioned, there are a variety of ways you can make
your red beans and rice, some add smoked sausage, or more specifically,
Andouille or toss in a little savory Tasso ham.
Some cooks add bay leaves, or other spices, it really is up to your own
palate, as long as you keep the trinity!

Corn Bread in the classic cast iron skillet

With our dinner, I served Jasmine rice and baked a pan of corn
bread. Growing up, corn bread was the
one dish my family ate with every dinner, and was one of our main snacks – corn
bread and milk. It was the first dish I learned to cook at the ripe old age of
5 years old. My mom taught me... and I can still remember standing on the
little kitchen stool stirring all the ingredients following my mom’s
directions.

But this story is for another time.... I have very strong
opinions on the proper way to make corn bread.

Well, until next time...

May your kitchen be filled with good food, loving family and
friends, and great wine!

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About Me

Dining is a passion and honey, right now, I’m bursting with passion.
I’m not the most graceful cook, dishes and my kitchen for that matter, don’t always turnout “picture perfect” like on TV. Those chefs make everything look one - easy, and two - their kitchens stay pristine. In my case, cooking can be and usually is messy! Seriously, sauces splash, bubble over, and stove tops, counters and bowls all - get messed up! With that said, I love cooking, maybe over time, I’ll become as flawless as my idols, but until then, I’ll keep trying,
Me- I love eating and cooking, and on an occasion, or 2, or 3, or 20... love to drink wine. Originally, from the Midwest, I now live in Florida with my husband, our pets Rufus, and Barnie. I grew up cooking with my mom and grandmother. It was their passion and talent for cooking and being effervescent hosts that inspire me. I try very hard to recreate their wonderful dishes, sometimes I succeed - sometimes, not so much.
My New Year’s resolution for 2012 is to cook more for my husband and myself. To not be too tired and view cooking as a chore, rather remember that the outcome is something to relish.